study task 3

For me, illustration is about:

• Being a translation of reality. Illustration is here to record but not perfectly imitate real life. Illustration is a kind of fantasy, perhaps. It's here to add something new.
• Being playful, and experimental in technique. It is nice to have a high level of crafting, and to look at something and know that a lot of  thought was taken in it's production, but sometimes the thought is put more into it's message, rather than its aesthetic. The key is to have a unique tone of voice!
• Having a message. An illustration has something to say, or a job to do. It holds its own but can also be an addition to something else. 
• Telling a story, through visual or sequential narrative. Storytelling is a love of mine, but also in an illustration having a message a narrative is, for me, inevitable and strongly tied.
• Tone wise I favour heavily stylised work that still retains personality, often with a hand crafted charm. I have little interest in realism, but also the uber graphic. Shape and texture is very important, as well as quality of line and as I progress through the course I recognise them more and more. 

EXAMPLES OF WORK I FOUND WITH PINTEREST:

(here is my pinterest)

Character 

Luke Pearson

Not having Pearson's Hilda books to read as a child I feel like I have missed out, but I feel I can appreciate them as an adult nonetheless! The character development of Hilda and co is a strength of Pearson's. I also like how he has been able to capture character in image alone too. With no dialogue Pearson uses gesture and body language to convey the feelings of the giant.

Shape

Ping Zhu

I couldn't choose between these two artists for this category! What I love about Zhu's work is how she is able to capture such fluid movement. Her combination of shape and texture makes her work really unique.

Kunae Sato

On the other hand Sato's work is very flat and minimal, but still captures that essence of character and personality. I think it could be that the shapes themselves are clearly hand-drawn, their imperfections and naiveté offer something more than vector drawn shape work. 

Line

Margaret Bloy Graham

Perhaps there's a sentimental bias towards Bloy Graham's work but I do love it! The weight of her lines is very characteristic to the 1960s. There's a balance of playfulness and craft.

Marcus Oakley

On the other hand there is something crude but quite charming about the linework here in Marcus Oakley's illustration!

Composition ( + perspective)

Harriet Lee-Merrion

Lee-Merrion's illustration of Murakami's 'After Dark' fits the book perfectly. There's a sense of distance here between the viewer and the character created by the above angle composition, The lack of colour and minimal use of anything here fits the quiet atmosphere of the book.

 Texture + pattern

Laura Carlin

Carlin's work is very atmospheric and sensitive. The textures she uses compliment this. There's a sense of the artist's hand at work here.